


No Flash Photography!

by TheCourtSorcerer



Series: Merlin In The Modern Era [7]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Accidental secret relationship, Actor Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Actor Merlin (Merlin), Alternate Universe - Actors, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anniversaries, Annoying Gossip Journalists, Attempt at humour, Director Gwen, Established Relationship, Famous Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Famous Merlin (Merlin), Fluff, Fluff and Humour, Gossip Magazines, M/M, Misunderstandings, Modern Era, Proposals, Secret Relationship, The Media Gets Everything Wrong, inspired by another fic, kind of?, livestreams, very minor very brief angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-24 19:02:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30076905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCourtSorcerer/pseuds/TheCourtSorcerer
Summary: “Oh, oh! Look at this one!” Arthur snorted, staring at his phone as he sat next to Merlin on the couch in the living room of their flat that evening. Merlin tore his eyes away from the movie they were supposed to be watching and raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend.“What is it now?” He almost didn’t want to ask. When Arthur used that voice, it was almost always some bogus gossip story trying to either make them look bad, create a crazy affair for them, or somehow do both at the same time. He grimaced slightly, wondering which one of them and what it would be this time.Arthur scooted closer and wrapped an arm around him, holding his phone between them so they could both read the screen. “Looks like you’ve got a secret girlfriend I didn’t know about! Who is this Freya Waterson, Merlin? I’m simplyheartbroken!” He feigned distress, almost immediately killing the ruse by grinning stupidly.-OR-Arthur & Merlin, well-known actors who play leading characters Brenin & Gwyn in popular show Once & Future, have been together for eight years, everyone knows it! Well... Theythoughteveryone knew it.
Relationships: Gwen/Lancelot (Merlin), Leon/Morgana (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merlin In The Modern Era [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2141385
Comments: 24
Kudos: 251





	No Flash Photography!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shana_Rose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shana_Rose/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Most Important](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27318352) by [Shana_Rose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shana_Rose/pseuds/Shana_Rose). 



> **Alternate Title** : _In Moments So Tender, So Dear, We Disregard The Flash_
> 
> _Big thank you to my beta[Miah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiahWitch) for looking this over for me even though you've never watched Merlin, and it's the middle of the night and we should both be asleep, I appreciate it so much!_
> 
> Shana_Rose, I hope you like this!! I hope it's what you expected, and it was worth the wait! [The Most Important](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27318352) was so wonderful, and it was the inspiration for me to write this! I hope this lives up to any expectations my little sneak peak updates may have brought you!

“And… _Cut!_ That’s scene! That was wonderful, oh this is going to be a fantastic finale!”

Merlin’s shoulders sagged in relief as the director called end to the days shooting and the camera’s stopped rolling. He loved his job, but _gods_ it could get exhausting, especially when they had to re-film as much as they did today.

“I think that is… All for today! Pack up, and get some rest, final day of shooting for this season is tomorrow and I want you all here bright and early, got it?” Gwen clapped her hands together as she addressed all on set, projecting her voice so they could all hear. Elyan, her brother who worked lighting, groaned loudly for all to hear and dragged his feet over to her.

“Gwen… Guinevere, darling sister, _Gwen_ ,” Elyan pleaded, “one, _one_ morning, I’d like to sleep in. Tomorrow’s last shooting, surely you can make an exception for us…”

Merlin watched in amusement as Gwen just stared indifferently at her brother. He tried this every Thursday on set, always trying to find a way to get Gwen to let him come in late so he could go out drinking with Gwaine and Percival. She never budged, never gave in, but Merlin did have to commend him for his persistence. Stronger men have gone against Gwen and broke.

As Gwen explained to him yet again, rather bored, that he was in no way to be late to the studio tomorrow unless he wanted her to replace him for the next season (empty threat, she never really would), Merlin walked off the fake house set and to where Leon stood with Morgana off to the side.

Leon, _bless him_ , immediately held out a cold bottle of water for Merlin when he approached, while Morgana just grinned at him. He always loved shooting season finales and multi-part episodes; Leon would come watch with Morgana on the last two days to see him and Arthur in action. It was one of his favourite parts of finishing a season, getting to see the two of them watching proudly (Leon) and less-obviously but still proudly (Morgana). Plus, Leon always brought snacks and water from Merlin’s favourite café down the street.

“Arthur should be here in a minute,” Merlin told the couple after taking a long drink of water, “ _but enough about him, what’d you think?_ Excited to see it air? I am, gods, I really am. I can’t wait to watch it, oh, the fanbase is going to _riot_ when they see how the writers left it—y’know, I actually got to write parts of this season! The writing team let me even help with the finale so you just _know_ I snuck in—”

“You better not be spoiling anything, _Mer_ lin, you how Gwen feels about that.”

Merlin spun around to face the prat who dared interrupt him, the grin on his face betraying his false annoyance when he reminded Arthur, “they were literally here, watching us film, Morgana probably already coaxed from Gwen and read through the episode’s script, there’s nothing I could have spoiled that they don’t already know.”

Arthur just huffed, shrugging. “It’s the principle of the thing,” he muttered as he slipped an arm around Merlin’s waist, pulling him against his side.

“Mm, whatever, it’s just your sister and Leon, it’s not like they actually watch our show anyway,” Merlin sighed, leaning into his boyfriend’s side. He shot Morgana a grin when she narrowed her eyes at him for the comment, he knew she knew he loved her.

“Anyway, I think you both did great today,” Leon suddenly spoke up, drawing all three sets of eyes to him. “Gwen seemed thrilled by your performances on camera, she didn’t even check her phone or message Lance once all day, even during break, she was so caught up in the episode. You must’ve done amazing.”

Beside him Morgana shot the two actors a wicked grin. “Yeah! You did great! _Especially you_ , Arthur, you _only_ fumbled your lines _five_ times!” She praised with faux innocence in her voice. Arthur rolled his eyes so hard Merlin was sure they’d get stuck in his head.

“Can you ever just say a good job and be done with it, ‘Gana?” He groaned.

Morgana’s face turned serious, except for the amusement in her eyes. “What kind of sister would I be then?”

“A good one?”

Merlin snorted slightly, quickly taking a drink of water to mask his chuckle. Leon just raised an eyebrow at the pair of siblings.

“That’s fair,” Morgana finally shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest as she grinned at her brother. “Really, though, you did—"

“Arthur! Merlin!” A voice suddenly called, cutting off Morgana, and they all turned to see Gwen hurrying over with a large grin. She was waving her phone at them as she approached, alerting Merlin almost immediately that Lance was going to be a part of this conversation. One look at Arthur, and Merlin knew he’d deduced the same.

“Guinevere!” Arthur greeted with a grin, letting go of Merlin as she got closer.

As expected, she swooped them both into big hugs individually before backing up and looking with a grin from Merlin & Arthur to Morgana & Leon, then back to her phone, gasping. “Oh! Right, sorry, love…” She quickly spoke into the phone, before tapping a button and holding it out to the middle of their little group.

“ _Hey! Can you guys hear me_?” Merlin shot Arthur a small smirk when Lance’s voice came through the phone.

“Yeah, we can hear you, Lance,” he replied, looking to Gwen, “nice to hear from you! Sorry you couldn’t make it to the set today, Gwen was just heartbroken to tell us when we came in this morning.”

Gwen shot Merlin a glare at his words, and he just grinned brightly back.

“ _Anyway_ , Lance wanted to ask you guys something,” she changed the subject quickly, “didn’t you Lance?”

Merlin raised an eyebrow and leaned against Arthur’s side again, nudging his arm. He smiled when Arthur took the hint and wrapped his arm around Merlin’s shoulders. He ignores the smirk Morgana gives them as he snuggles closer into his boyfriend’s side.

“ _Yeah, I wanted to know if everyone wanted to come over for drinks on Saturday to celebrate the end of filming the end of the season,”_ Lance’s voice came through the phone clearly. Morgana and Leon shared a contemplative look, while Merlin frowned at Arthur. “ _Gwen and I thought we could all spend the weekend binging season one through eight in preparation for the season nine finale episodes to come out in a few weeks.”_

“That sounds great, Lance, Morgana and I will be there,” Leon replied after a moment of whispering with the woman in question.

“ _Great!_ ” They could practically hear Lance’s grin. Gwen shifted her gaze to Arthur and Merlin, then, waiting for their agreement. “ _Merlin? Arthur? What about you two? Percy’s going to be there, so Gwaine will be on his best behaviour—which I know for Gwaine doesn’t mean much, but still. Wanna join us, oh glorious stars?”_

Gwen looked so excited to have them over for the weekend, Merlin felt a twinge of guilt as he shook his head.

“I’m really sorry, we can’t. Saturday’s our eight-year anniversary, and I’ve already made reservations for Arthur and I to go out for dinner and celebrate,” Merlin said loud enough for Lance to hear through the phone speaker, giving Gwen an apologetic look. He relaxed a bit when he felt Arthur’s hand squeeze his shoulder gently in a comforting gesture.

Gwen, the angel, didn’t look the least bit upset, to Merlin’s great relief. Instead, her smile only widened. “Don’t you dare apologize for that! Oh, I’m so happy for you two! _Eight years,_ that is incredible. I hope you both have a wonderful night.”

_“Yeah! Crap, I’m sorry, I completely forgot. Rain-check for next weekend you two? Just the four of us?”_

“No, yeah, that sounds great!” Merlin quickly agreed, “that sound okay, Arthur?”

“Yeah! Of course, we can’t wait,” Arthur assured them, ignoring Morgana’s ever-lasting smirk. “Sorry again for this weekend, have fun, though!” 

Lance laughed from the other side of the line. _“Don’t worry about it! Have fun celebrating! Gwen, off speaker, please?”_

“Right! Yes, of course,” Gwen grinned and quickly tapped her screen, taking him of speaker before putting the phone back to her ear, “okay, just me…Yeah, yeah, I’ll be home for dinner, of course! Oh, that sounds lovely—I’ll talk to you lot later, you did amazing to day Merlin, Arthur!”

Merlin and Arthur grinned and waved as Gwen walked off, talking away to Lance with a huge smile on her face. Merlin was so glad he’d set them up, they were so good together…

“So, anniversary on Saturday already?” Morgana spoke up after a moment of watching Gwen walk away.

* * *

“Oh, oh! Look at this one!” Arthur snorted, staring at his phone as he sat next to Merlin on the couch in the living room of their flat that evening. Merlin tore his eyes away from the movie they were supposed to be watching and raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend.

“What is it now?” He almost didn’t want to ask. When Arthur used that voice, it was almost always some bogus gossip story trying to either make them look bad, create a crazy affair for them, or somehow do both at the same time. He grimaced slightly, wondering which one of them and what it would be this time.

Arthur scooted closer and wrapped an arm around him, holding his phone between them so they could both read the screen. “Looks like you’ve got a secret girlfriend I didn’t know about! Who is this Freya Waterson, Merlin? I’m simply _heartbroken_!” He feigned distress, almost immediately killing the ruse by grinning stupidly.

“Oh, my gods,” Merlin groaned loudly, only a little exasperated, “We didn’t even go out! We hang out from time to time, when she’s not out of the country on movie jobs, but seriously, where do these people get their information? _She has a literal wife for fuck’s sake.”_

“Mm, yeah, and you have a boyfriend of almost eight years, but no one cares about that, so why would they care about a wife?” Arthur shrugged, “I mean, we are _literally_ together all the time and no one ever covers our brilliant love story, they only talk about how we’re _such good co-stars_ , while _Once & Future_ fans ship our characters into oblivion. So, I don’t think Freya having a wife matters much to them, when they blatantly disrespect our relationship literally every week.”

Arthur paused a moment, smiling. “Honestly, it’s kind of funny seeing who they’ll pair us with next.”

Merlin had to agree with that, nodding. It was kind of fun reading all their supposed scandalous affairs. Suddenly, another thought occurred to Merlin and he turned to Arthur curiously.

“Do you read fanfiction of our characters?” He knew it was a very strange deviation from their conversation, but being reminded of how much fans wanted Brenin and Gwyn to get together already made him think of it. (Honestly, he wanted them together, too, and dammit he was going his best to make sure it happened and it happened _right_.)

Arthur went quiet for a moment, staring at Merlin with a questioning look, before shaking his head. “No…”

“Oh,” Merlin cleared his throat and looked away, heat rising to his face.

“I don’t _just_ read it, fucking _write_ it, who do you think I am?” His asshole of a boyfriend abruptly added, grinning wickedly, “Why? Do _you?”_

Merlin scoffed, whacking Arthur on the arm for embarrassing him like that. “Of fucking course, I do, you prat! You know I ship it just as bad as them. Gods, I’ve been trying everything I can to get us just _one_ kiss—well, and y’know a whole actual relationship because just _one_ scene would be absolutely ridiculous with our characters’ chemistry—and honestly, I think Gwen is too. I saw her whispering frantically to one of the main writers the other week on set, and she kept saying ‘Brenin’ and ‘Gwyn’ and ‘already’ and our names.”

“ _Really?_ ” Arthur asked incredulously.

“Yeah! We’re finally getting through to them, too! It’s looking like we’ll get to start off season ten exploring Brenin and Gwyn’s feelings for each other. I heard talk the other day that one of the biggest reasons a relationship hadn’t been actively written yet was because the writers weren’t sure if we’d be comfortable kissing and shit on camera,” Merlin laughed slightly, and Arthur let out an amused huff. “I set that straight _immediately_. So, we should be getting some Bryn development finally.”

“Fucking _finally,_ I can’t believe that was their biggest setback, we could have fixed that ages ago!” Arthur exclaimed, as the movie they were not-watching cut to credits.

Merlin just nodded his agreement, reaching for the remote to pick a new movie. “I just hope that they give us a relaxed, calm love confession scene, maybe like an accidental sleepy confession, that’d be fun, and then at a least one dramatic before-battle kiss.” 

“Yeah, I think a soft confession scene would work much better than a dramatic one for Brenin and Gwyn, especially since they’re so bad at verbally expressing themselves,” Arthur hummed, scanning the movies on the screen.

“You’re one to talk, you emotionally constipated cabbagehead,” Merlin snorted, “none of these look _good…_ Wanna just watch Doctor Who re-runs again until we fall asleep?”

“Yeah, sure, why not.”

* * *

“Brenin!” Merlin called out, running across the set to Arthur, eyes wide.

Arthur gasped and spun around to face Merlin, shock written on his face. “Gwyn! What are you _doing_ here, you idiot, it’s not safe!”

“I could ask you the same thing! And you _can’t say things like that_ , I’m still the _prince_ , Brenin.” Merlin narrowed his eyes, his voice scolding. “I followed you, you were acting suspicious… What _is_ this place? I’ve never…forgotten my line so quickly after just being told them, _fuck._ ”

Merlin dropped his head into his hands with a groan as Arthur snorted out a laugh, and Gwen called cut.

“I think that means it’s time for a break,” Gwen announced, thankfully sounding more amused than annoyed that Merlin messed up the scene again. He’d been having more trouble than usual that day, he just couldn’t keep focused! His thoughts kept drifting to his plan for their anniversary tomorrow night. He couldn’t help it—he was anxious!

He was usually never this scatterbrained during filming, it made him glad Gwen was their director… She was always so understanding.

Merlin let Arthur lead him off set and to a chair. “Alright, spill it.”

“Spill what?” Merlin blinked, putting on his best innocent face. Arthur just rolled his eyes and plopped into the chair next to Merlin.

“Oh, don’t even try that,” he muttered, “for an actor, you’re rather terrible at acting, you know? Can’t lie for shit. Not to me at least. Something’s nagging at your mind, you never forget your lines this much…”

Merlin’s brows furrowed in a frown as he tugged his bottom lip between his teeth, chewing it nervously. “It’s…” He paused, looking away from his boyfriend. He hated lying to him, and Arthur was right. He’s shit at it. He needed to, though, he couldn’t ruin his plan. So, he put on a grin and looked back to Arthur.

“It’s nothing, just a bit tired, I suppose.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes, looking at Merlin in silence for a long moment before crossing his arms. He shook his head decisively. “That’s bullshit. The truth, if you would, my love?”

Right, of course Arthur would see right through him. Merlin sighed loudly.

“Arthur, I… I can’t tell you.” He grimaced when he saw Arthur’s face fall, a glimmer of hurt in his eyes. Quickly, Merlin moved to clarify, “I can’t tell you because it would ruin the surprise!”

Arthur’s expression morphed into one of curiosity now, and Merlin internally cursed. Dammit, now he’d never let go.

“A _surprise_ , hm?” Arthur grinned widely, “Is it for our anniversary? Did you get me a present? _What is it?”_

“Arthur…” Merlin warned. Arthur opened his mouth, probably to insist Merlin spill more of his secret plan, but thankfully, Gwen’s voice echoing through the set cut him off.

“Alright! Back on set! Break’s over!” She called, projecting her voice, “Arthur, Merlin! Come on, from where we left off!”

Both men shared a glance before hurrying back into their places. Merlin took a deep breath, putting on his Gwyn-persona quickly.

“Right, Merlin—your line is _I’ve never seen anything like this before._ Action!”

* * *

“Oh, did you hear the news?” Arthur hummed, taking a sip from his wine as he sat across the all too fancy table from Merlin.

Merlin raised an eyebrow, dragging his gaze from the candles on the outer sides of the table to Arthur’s face. “What news?” He hoped his voice didn’t betray his nerves. Luckily, Arthur seemed none the wiser of his lover’s internal anxiety party, as he smirked and leaned back in his chair.

“Apparently, as of this morning, you’re cheating on Freya with that one singer Nimueh,” Arthur announced as if talking about the weather. Merlin couldn’t help the laugh that tore its way from his throat at the pure incredulity of the idea.

“Okay, there are _many_ issues with that statement, number one being I despise Nimueh after she _literally tried to kill you_ not even a year after we met.” Arthur snorted at this, and Merlin continued, “number two being the only thing I’ve ever cheated on was a diet when I was sixteen because I felt like my mother thought I didn’t like her food since I was cutting back my portions.”

This earned a full laugh from Arthur, who looked not in the least bit surprised. “That is…So you, Merlin, it’s not even funny.”

“Well, it’s gotta be a little funny, because you’re laughing,” Merlin grinned. Arthur just rolled his eyes.

“Insufferable, you are, just because I laugh doesn’t mean it’s funny.” Arthur’s words said one thing, but his grin said a whole other thing. “Would you like to hear what my latest affair is?”

Merlin hesitated a moment, glancing around the fairly empty restaurant, then to their plates. They were finished with dinner, waiting on desert to be served… Perhaps now would…

“Actually, um, I need to ask you something…” He murmured.

Arthur gave him a strange look but shrugged, letting him change the subject, probably sensing the serious tone in Merlin’s voice. “What is it, love?”

Right. Right… Now, it was time. Little to no one else around, right before desert, Arthur clueless… Perfect. Merlin took a deep, shaky breath, and pushed his chair back as he stood up slowly. Arthur’s brows furrowed in confusion as he watched Merlin walk around the table to stand beside his chair.

“ _Mer_ lin? Is everything alright?” He asked, adjusting his chair so he was facing Merlin. The brunet gave a timid smile and nodded before slowly kneeling, glancing anxiously around them. Thank gods, no one caught on yet. Not that either of them would mind if they had, they’d discussed this, public proposals, before and both were fine with them.

Merlin dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small navy box, his hands trembling ever-so-slightly. He watched as Arthur’s eyes gradually widened as realization set in.

“ _Merlin,_ ” he breathed, the disbelief clear as day.

“Arthur…” Merlin whispered. He cleared his throat, and opened the box to reveal a stunning silver ring with a single, not too large, not too small, ruby set in the center front of the band. Arthur gasped, and Merlin would’ve laughed at how wide his eyes were in any other situation.

“Arthur,” he repeated, his voice louder now, “I love you more than I am able to put into words, I mean… I’m Merlin and you’re Arthur! We are men of _legends_ , even if not us literally, our namesakes are. We were meant to be together, really, would’ve just been an opportunity wasted had we not got over ourselves and had that date eight years ago, and I am rambling, fuck, okay, Arthur—I love you so much… I want… I want to spend the rest of my life by your side, and I know I can do that without marriage, but dammit I want to make it official; I want to be able to say ‘oh Arthur? You mean my husband?’ _Fuck,_ I want _that_ …”

Merlin paused, taking a breath. “I want to marry you, Arthur… I want to be yours in every way possible, including legally. You—do you want to marry me? Will… _Will_ you marry me…?”

Merlin waited in anxious anticipation as Arthur took his sweet time, staring speechless at Merlin. Until _finally,_ he let out a loud laugh, his grin so wide Merlin swore it would split his face.

“God, Merlin, yes! Fuck, of course I want to!” He exclaimed as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “God, I’ve wanted to since our sixth, yes, Merlin. _Yes_ , I’ll marry you.”

The brunet let out a breath of relief, a weight lifted he didn’t even know was holding him down. A grin broke out on his face, and Merlin fumbled with getting the ring out of the box before slipping it onto Arthur’s outstretched hand. Once it was on, Arthur just stared at it for a few moments.

Then, he suddenly surged forward, grabbing Merlin by the face as he kissed him with everything he had. Merlin let out a startled squeak. He quickly recovered, though, and buried his hands in Arthur’s hair as he kissed back deeply, his eyes falling shut.

It was only when they slowly broke apart, that Merlin finally noticed the familiar flash of a phone camera to their left. He couldn’t help but chuckle softly, pressing his forehead to Arthur’s.

“I have a feeling I know what next week’s story is going to be,” he mumbled, the smile on his face unwilling to disappear. “We better call and tell everyone important before they find out from some gossip column.”

Arthur snorted, pressing another, sweeter, kiss to Merlin’s lips. “We’ll tell them tomorrow,” he hummed as their lips parted for a second time, “I think we have important celebrations to attend to tonight, _if you get what I mean_ …”

Merlin rolled his eyes, still grinning, and let go of Arthur as he rose to his feet. “Let’s finish desert first, yeah? It should be here any moment now,” he said, walking back and sitting in his own seat, “ _then_ we can focus on _other_ celebrations. Once we’re home.”

A moment of quiet passed, as Arthur seemed to contemplate Merlin’s words. Soon enough, though, he nodded, grabbing his almost empty glass of wine and raising it to his lips.

“I think I can manage that,” he agreed.

* * *

_“Oh, my gods.”_

Gwen winced slightly, pulling the magazine away from Merlin. “Yeah… Ah, It came out this morning. I guess that means you hadn’t seen it yet?”

Merlin shook his head rapidly, his eyes wide in shock. “No! No, Arthur’s still sleeping, and I only just got up to make us some morning tea and breakfast right before you arrived, I haven’t checked social media yet, and we stopped having that magazine delivered ages ago—after they said Arthur was having an affair with _Leon_.”

His friend and director went quiet for a moment in thought, recalling the event two years ago. Morgana had _not_ been pleased for the slander her husband received from the article claiming he was cheating on her with his brother-in-law. Needless to say, Guinevere was the only one who still got the magazine anymore, and that was only because Lancelot’s niece who stayed with them often, loved it’s gossip and fashion sections.

“Arthur’s going to freak out, isn’t he,” she finally murmured, staring at the headline in her hands. Merlin let out a long, resigned sigh.

“No… No, he’s going to pout for five hours then call a press conference to our fucking flat, that’s what he’s going to do,” he grumbled, “that is, if I don’t stop him first.”

“Oh, dear, would he really?” Gwen’s eyes widened a fraction, as her gaze snapped back to Merlin.

He sighed again, louder. “Well, maybe he wouldn’t go _that_ far, but you know he’s quite the dramatic and well—this is kind of a large deal… Even I have to admit, it’s ridiculous! What did they think all those eight years of us literally never leaving the other’s side?” Merlin paused with a grimace, “though it explains the endless stream of affairs we seem to get caught in…”

Gwen mirrored his grimace, nodding slowly.

“Should I leave this here for you to sho—”

“ _Merlin!!!_ ” A voice called from the other side of the large flat, sounding strained. Merlin couldn’t help but wince when he heard it, immediately recognizing the tone of distress. By the look on her face, Gwen noticed it too.

“…I forgot he checks his phone first thing in the morning,” Merlin whispered.

Gwen gave him a sympathetic smile, before leaning in and pressing a friendly kiss to his cheek. “I’ll take my leave, go comfort your fiancé, this is… A big shock for you two. Congratulations, on the engagement by the way, when you stop by Lance’s and my place we’ll have a small, unofficial celebration.”

“Thanks,” Merlin murmured, forcing a smile, “I’ll see you then, and I’ll text you later.”

The woman shot him one more reassuring look, before heading out the door and shutting it behind her with promises to shoot a photo of the headline to Morgana. As soon as the door was shut, Merlin locked it up and took a deep breath. Then, he walked back to his and Arthur’s shared bedroom.

Once he stepped through the doorway, his eyes immediately sought out Arthur. His shoulder’s drooped, the stress tensing them slipping away, when he spotted his fiancé sitting up against his pillow, a lost look on his face as he stared at his phone.

“Hey…” Merlin hummed, walking over and climbing onto the bed. Arthur just huffed out a breath, a deep frown marring his brow. Merlin found a frown of his own creeping onto his face at this. So, he scooted over and squished their sides together, resting his head on Arthur’s shoulder, which seemed to relax a bit at contact.

“They didn’t know…” Arthur finally spoke, sounding disbelieving, “that’s why they wrote so many articles about us, they—we were a _secret. How were we a secret?”_

“I don’t know, love, I don’t know,” Merlin responded softly, staring at the headline on Arthur’s screen, “I thought we were so open about our relationship, but they really thought we were just _extra close best friends_ … Damn. Not how I wanted our engagement announced.”

Arthur snorted slightly, glancing to Merlin where he rested on his shoulder. “Look at that, we agree on something.”

“We agree on a lot of things.”

“I suppose we do.”

A moment of silence passed, as the two stared at the headline and subtitle taking up the phone screen.

> _‘ **Once & Future Co-Stars Arthur Pendragon & Merlin Ambrose in Scandalous Secret Affair? **_
> 
> _How long have the pair been together? Is it just sex? Is it more? Does the ring on A. Pendragon’s finger mean anything significant? Read on for my professional insight & opinion on the Penbrose Affair. – Posted Monday 8:23 A.M.’ _

Merlin sighed loudly and lifted his head from Arthur’s shoulder, looking at his face. “They included photos from Saturday night, when I proposed. Someone took pictures and sent them in… Morgana’s going to tear into the publishers again. Probably will send in a scathing letter to Vivian about how awful and gross her article is. Literally half of it is talking about how we’re probably just screwing around, Gwen was just showing it to me before you woke…”

“So that’s who was here,” Arthur nodded slowly before tearing this gaze from the phone to meet Merlin’s eyes, “honestly, this time, I think I’m going to just let Morgana do whatever she wants. We couldn’t have been more open about our relationship, but because of Vivian’s articles, no one apparently knew. If Morgana wants to send her a raging letter about how _stupid_ she is and how we’ve been committed to each other for eight years and are now getting married—hell, I’ll help her.”

“Mm, yeah, I think I’d have to help too,” Merlin agreed, “it was funny before, when we thought she was just stirring up drama, but this is just plain stupid. Though…”

Arthur raised an eyebrow. “ _Though_?”

“I have to hand it to her.” The brunet smirked, enjoying Arthur’s curious look, “I do actually really like the sound of _Penbrose._ I don’t know, it sounds good.”

A jolt of joy ran through Merlin when Arthur let out a sudden laugh, success being a sweet feeling in his veins.

* * *

“Yes, actually! We have been in a committed relationship for eight years, after meeting when our director Guinevere introduced us after casting gave us our roles on Once & Future,” Arthur answered the question that popped up on the screen, grinning as he slipped an arm around Merlin’s shoulders.

It was a chilly Wednesday afternoon. Merlin had his phone propped up on a stand so neither of them had to hold it, and he was sitting beside his fiancé as they hosted a livestream to clear up all the chaos that broke loose after Monday’s edition of _Avalon’s Finest._ The two had taken Tuesday to think about the best way to address what happened, while also telling Morgana to not be too harsh (because yes, she confirmed she would be sending a nasty letter).

They’d only just started the stream, and they already had been bombarded with questions, fans flooding in to get the latest update from the couple. Gwen was probably secretly thrilled for the publicity this was giving Once & Future.

Merlin laughed as he read the latest incoming question. “You’d be correct there, brynlove-sixty-nine, nice name by the way, um, yes,” Merlin composed himself, though amusement still danced in his eyes, “none of the affairs Vivian constantly wrote about were in any way real. Arthur has never slept with Leon, and I’ve never dated Freya or—gods forbid—Nimueh Gwiddon.”

Arthur snorted slightly at this, squeezing Merlin’s shoulder gently in a signal the latter knew well. Merlin happily obliged to the silent request, and wiggled in closer to his side.

“Honestly, I’m still not sure how no one realized we were together for so long! We don’t exactly hide it, and it was never meant to be a secret,” Arthur paused, glancing to the ring on his hand before continuing with a smile, “this really wasn’t how we intended to announce our engagement, either. Though, it’s nice to have it out there without having to make a big formal statement.”

At Arthur’s reminder to the fans of their engagement, their comments were flooded with ‘congratulations!!!’ and endless heart emoji’s. Merlin and Arthur shared a grin, and thanked them all for their kindness.

Once the questions started back up, Merlin noticed one that startled a laugh out of him. Arthur shot his lover a confused, and minorly concerned look, and Merlin just pointed at the comment, which was about to be buried by others. Merlin knew he saw it though, when Arthur laughed as well.

“Gwyn-has-my-heart! _Lovely_ user,” Merlin announced with a sparkling grin, “I wish more than anything that I could answer you, but first of all, we haven’t received season ten scripts yet as we literally just finished filming season nine last Friday, so we are currently just as in the dark about the progression of Brenin and Gwyn’s relationship as you lot are, and two even if we weren’t I fear our beloved director, Guinevere DuLac, would have my head if I spoiled even a word of what’s to come!”

“It’s true, she would,” Arthur piped up, nodding solemnly. Merlin rolled his eyes at his faux-serious expression, before giving the camera on his phone a conspiratorial smirk.

“Just between us, though,” Merlin began, leaning forward a bit, “Arthur and I are rooting for Bryn next season just as much as you. Especially after this season’s finale episode!” Merlin winked, leaning back again and resting his head on Arthur’s shoulder.

“Don’t forget to make your plans ahead of time! We’ve got an extra long two-part finale for nine, and we’d hate for you to miss it! You know how awful the media can be with spoilers. Better catch it when it airs!”

“ _Mer_ lin…” Arthur raised an eyebrow as the comments went nuts about the actors shipping their characters, “Did you really just use our livestream to promote the finale?”

Merlin shrugged, putting on his most innocent face. “It’s what Gwen would want.”

Arthur let out a loud, long sigh before turning back to the stream, scanning the comments for a question. Merlin swung his legs up and onto Arthur’s lap, watching his face and noticing the exact moment he found a question to answer. His face lit up furiously bright when he realized what the question was, however.

“Yes, Amélie Rose! That’s actually a lovely question,” Arthur grinned wickedly, “so… _Ambrose_ over here actually proposed to _me_ , surprise, surprise. He gave this big, ridiculously sappy speech and everything, let me tell you _all about it_ …”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, and as always, I hope you enjoyed this fic!!!


End file.
